Todd Bowles Reveals Return as Bucs HC for 2026 NFL Season After Hot-Seat Rumors

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles is returning for a fifth season in 2026, he told Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times.

Bowles confirmed his return in a text message, according to Stroud.

The news comes after Bowles met Tuesday with Buccaneers ownership, Stroud reported.

The Bucs, who started the 2025 season 1-5 before going 3-8 down the stretch, missed the playoffs this winter for the first time in six years.

Tampa Bay has recorded a 35-33 record in fourth years under Bowles, a stretch bookended by 8-9 seasons.

His most successful run with the team came in 2023, when the Bucs won nine regular-season games and a Wild Card game against the Philadelphia Eagles before losing in the divisional round.

Bowles is currently signed through 2028 after inking a three-year extension with the Bucs last June.

According to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, that deal came with a "hefty" buyout the Bucs don't "seem overly eager to pay."

Bowles' job safety might not to extend to the members of his staff, however. According to Stroud, Bowles confirmed there would be staffing changes ahead of the 2026 season.

Fowler recently reported that "one model that Tampa has kicked around is beefing up the staff around Bowles with a new offensive coordinator and additions to the defensive staff (possibly a coordinator role)."

The Bucs' late-season collapse brought scrutiny on offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard, who stepped in to replace former Bucs OC and current Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen last offseason.

The Bucs went from ranking third in total offensive yards in their final season under Coen finishing their first campaign under Grizzard ranked 21st in the league.

When asked about Grizzard on Monday, Bowles answered, "First year, he learned a lot. He learned a lot of things. We had a lot of injuries, but he learned a lot of things week to week, and things that he can take with him and learn from, and we'll evaluate it from there."

Whoever ultimately works with the Bucs offense next season is set to build around quarterback Baker Mayfield, who will look to bounce back from his accuracy struggles down the stretch as he heads into the final year of his current contract.